


Broken

by Sonko



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Black Hat is a savior in his own jerkish way, Demencia and Flug need hugs plz, F/M, Hashtag this ship needs more attention, I AM SORRY, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self discovery I can't write fluff without angst, Snippets of backstory, WARNING THIS IS SAD, but there is fluffy ending, but you gonna have to trek through the journey of sadness to get there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 10:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11401056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonko/pseuds/Sonko
Summary: Demencia just wanted to see Flug's face.She gets more than what she bargained for.





	Broken

**Author's Note:**

> Yo! Taking a break from my previous fic to write this one-shot! Too many PaperHats here that even I wanted to jump into the variety wagon lmao. I love dapper demon and nerd boy, but punk lizard girl and nerd boy is the shit too!
> 
> Someone mentions OT3s in the the distance, 
> 
> "YO SPEAK UP I WANT IN ON THIS TOO."
> 
> This is me.
> 
> Anyway enjoy!!

…

The first time she saw his face had been an accident… okay maybe it wasn’t an accident, but after many attempts of trying to unveil Flug’s paper bag with minimal success, she believed this one would be a flop as well. Knowing she may never actually get to see his face, she only ever plotted her schemes for the fun of it, because Flug’s reactions to them are always a hilarious welcoming treat.

So she never anticipated her recent scheme to actually work. And she could hardly prepare herself for what followed afterward.

She recalled how strong the doctor was as he nearly choked the life out of her. He didn’t seem to be looking at her though, but rather through her in a crazed expression as he repeated the same phrase over and over, tone dripped with venom and malice.

“I’ll kill you… I kill you!”

If Black Hat hadn’t arrived then, she likely would have died.

Black Hat tore him off her and restrained him in the air with a tirade of appendages. Flug fought like these were his last seconds of living, even going as far as sinking his teeth into the nearest tentacle like a wild animal. But Black Hat remained calm and composed, knowing exactly what he’s doing, as if this hasn’t been the first time it happened.

Then with a sideways glance and in a tone that dared her to argue, Black Hat ordered Demencia to leave. She wouldn’t’ve tried to protest anyway. Bombarded with feeling she couldn’t identify and utterly speechless, she exited the lab.

What happened between Dr. Flug and Black Hat remained a mystery, but things seemed to return back to normal. Except things weren’t normal at all anymore.

Demenica found herself avoiding the doctor, couldn’t bring herself to raise havoc in the lab like she used to. Stranger things have happened too. Arguments were more frequent between her boss and the scientist, and they’re no longer one-sided. The reasons behind the arguments were also unheard of in the household they live in.

Black Hat, instead of pushing Dr. Flug to work harder, wanted him to slow down and rest. Even he has noticed how Flug hardly ever leaves the lab anymore. It’s hard to even recall the last time he ate. Meanwhile, Dr. Flug, who usually wouldn’t dare to entertain the thought of talking back to his boss, would respond by politely telling him to _fuck off and let him do his job since it’s the only thing he’s here for._

Fights would break out sometimes, Flug being the one to initiate it after having enough of Black Hat’s _uncharacteristic doting_ , and though Black Hat is leagues stronger and much deadlier, the most he’d ever do is knock him unconscious. It’s as close to resting as the doctor ever gets.

These events made Demencia feel sick to her stomach, knowing well this was her fault and yet she’s hiding away like a coward.

So one night, she payed a visit to the lab after weeks of never stepping foot in it. This time, she was prepared for a fight if it came to it. Whether Dr. Flug truly hates her for what she did or not, she is going to settle things once and for all. She just wants everything to be normal again. So she opted to go in there, apologise, and hope he accepts it.

Sadly, she wound up unprepared again

Flug, upon seeing her, dropped two beaker-filled chemicals he was using for some new project, allowing the glass to shatter and the substance to spill on the floor. The doctor didn’t seem to care as he backed away to a corner, trembling in fear. Demencia stared, immensely confused. She looks behind her, thinking Black Hat might've arrived as well and didn't notice him. She spotted no one. Brows furrowed, she glanced back at the doctor. He's not even looking at her now. He now sat hunched in a fetal position, looking like a child hoping to avoid getting beaten.

Then a thought occurred to her, and it sent an unwanted chill down her spine. It’s not Black Hat anymore he’s afraid of.

It’s her.

But why? Never before since they started worked together has Demencia done anything to cause Flug to fear her. Not really. Not unless he makes her upset, which rarely happens. Other than that, the most she’s given him on a day-to-day basis is unrelenting stress.

She wanted to pull her hair out, feeling beyond frustrated and terrible. None of this made any sense. He’s the one that attacked her! If anyone had the right to feel fear, it’d be this girl!

It’s almost funny if you think about it though. Demencia, afraid of Dr. Flug. What has the world come to?

She needed to get this over with. She steps forward cautiously.

“Flug?”  
  
He flinches at the sound of his name, and if possible, made himself smaller.

“P-Please go away D-Demencia.” He sounded so broken. “I-I know you’re upset with me… and fuck knows how much I hate myself f-for hurting you. I... I thought I could get over it. I thought I could put it behind me, but-” He chokes a sob. “It was stupid of me to think that. In the end I’ll still keep hurting the people I care about. So what’s the point in trying to think I’ll get better?”

Demencia couldn’t find words to say as she stares at the broken heap of a scientist. He’s hurt people before, unintentionally, and they were important to him? Wait... Was he indirectly referring to her as well?

Flug cares about her? The thought was strange, mostly because Demencia was sure he only saw her as annoying. And a fellow employee. And an experiment.

Still.

“You care about me?”

Flug tenses up, realizing his mistake. He doesn’t say anything.

“Fluuuug~” She sits on her knees in front of him. Her tone wasn’t overly teasing; it was more of a gentle jab. “That’s what you’re implying, right?”

“I-It doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does.”

“You really shouldn’t care how I feel about you.” Flug rubs his eyes. “It’s not like you did before. It won’t make any difference.”

The words produced a tight knot in her chest; it twisted and burned uncomfortably. Has she really made that bad of an impression?

“Flug-”

“It’s fine.” He takes a feeble shaky breath. Talking seemed to be getting difficult the more he does it. Demencia could barely hear him now. “I deserve to be alone. I can’t trust myself knowing I might hurting someone again. I almost killed you Demencia. I can’t bear the thought of it happening again.”

That could explain why he isolates himself in the lab and now that she looks closely, Demencia horrifically took notice on how much bigger the lab coat seems to fit on the scientist. Considering Flug originally has the body of a twig, he’s likely skin and bone at this point. It’s amazing he’s still alive. And yet he continues to work and not care for himself.

Thoughts manifest like dark eerie whispers in the girl’s head.

She caused this. She did this to him.

If she hasn’t felt extremely terrible before...

“Oh Flug no…” She pulls him into her arms. The doctor doesn’t fight back. He couldn’t. Whatever adrenaline he had to work on his projects had been sucked dry. He could barely move. Demencia felt like she was holding a corpse.

And that did it. She broke down, face buried into his bony shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to… I didn’t want this to happen,” she says between sobs, resisting to hold him tighter in fear of him falling apart. She holds him still, like fragile glass, while uttering apologies and whatever else that spills from her mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t do this to yourself.”

“It’s not worth it.”

“I’m not worth it.”

Between her meshed up thoughts and after calming down enough to think properly, Demencia’s resolved to take matters into her own hands. She can’t leave him like this. This man needs to eat and needs to rest. Demencia stands first, and then proceeds to carry Flug. The fact that he’s super light scared her. What scared her even more was his continued lack of resistance, no voice of protest or any sound in general. Only silence.

She tries not to panic as she moves quickly to the dining and kitchen area of the manor. She gently sets Flug down in one of the dining chairs and once she’s sure that he wouldn’t fall over, Demencia shuffles through the fridge and through all the cabinets that supplied food. There wasn’t much she could work with apparently. They’re in need to restock and are fresh out of simple, instant-microvavable stuffs. She’s not a fantastic cook either.

More tears ran down her face; disoriented, vexed, and she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking as she tosses aside useless expired garbage. The feeling of uselessness was unbearable. It was painful. Why is this happening? She just wants to help Dr. Flug. But she can’t even provide something as simple as something to eat.

Eyes blurry with salt water, she could only feel a hands on her shoulders as she was gently pushed aside.

“Go sit down. Make sure he doesn’t leave.”

Registering the familiar voice of her boss, she was highly surprised, both by his presence and the act.

“B-Black Ha-”

“Go. Clean yourself up and watch him. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

She silently does as she is told, wiping her tears and sitting next to Flug. A box of tissues was set in front of her followed by a soft familiar growl coming from a certain big blue bear. Demencia mutters her thanks and uses them on her tears and ruined makeup.

“Here.”

Black Hat’s voice makes her jump to his attention. She notices two plates of food on the table. The food itself was unlike anything she’s seen before, but surprisingly didn’t look grotesque in the way it will make you not want to go near it. It’s like seeing food from another planet. It smells nice too. Next to it lay a glass of water.

“This will build his strength faster than your primitive human food. Make sure he eats all of it. And if he resists, find me. He knows that I’ll be more than happy to shove it down his throat.”

Those were his final words before he leaves them. He motions 5.0.5 to follow. The bear glances back with worry, but obeys, exiting out the kitchen with Black Hat.

The two were alone again, but now they have food. Food offered by Black Hat. The fact still amazed Demencia, but greatly accepts the the offered help. Now is to get Flug to eat it.

Flug hasn’t so much as twitched since he sat. The events from mere minutes ago seemed to fly by him without really paying attention. Now, he looks to be staring at the plates of food in front of him. Silent and unmoving. Signs showing that he’s still breathing puts Demencia at ease a little.

“F-Flug?” She breaks the silence hesitantly. He can eat by himself right? Or was he too weak? Does he need her help?

After a few more agonizing seconds, Flug finally moves. Hand quivering, he slowly reaches for his paper bag and pulls the edge up slightly over his mouth. Two jagged scars are seen over the right edge of his lips.

He silently eats, a sight that is relieving for the lizard girl next to him. Utensils drop a few times due to his frail state and after the fifth time, Demencia moves in to help. She doesn’t mind feeding him, but she could pinpoint the doctor’s embarrassment as he allows to be spoon fed like a toddler. It’s kinda cute, she admits to herself. She holds back from smiling.

“What’s so funny?”

Welp, mission failed. But yes, he’s finally talking! So mission accomplished!

Demencia lets her grin show fully and says, “You’re so cute when you get embarrased.”  
That got an interesting reaction. Flug chokes and quickly goes for the water, gulping it down. His strength is coming back, just like Black Hat had promised. An intense flush is visible under the bag. He coughs.

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“No. I’m trying to feed you.”

The doctor gives an exasperated sigh. “You know thinking about it, I guess this is fine. Better you than Black Hat any day.”

The neon girl tilts her head. “So he has shoved food down your throat?”

Flug laughs bitterly. “Honestly, I’d prefer that. Less awkward and more his style.”

The mysterious inhuman food was eventually consumed and Dr. Flug insists he can walk by himself just fine. Still, Demencia takes the doctor’s hand and guides him away from the lab. Any complaints about needing to work go unheard as she drags him up the manor stairs, through the halls, and towards her room. Seeing the girl’s door, Flug stammers. There was that adorable flush again and Demencia found herself liking it a lot more than she should.

“H-H-How about I just go... um, r-rest in my room?” he asks, sounding hopeful.

Demencia smiles wickedly. “Why? Are you afraid something in my room might kill you? Or…” She lets go of his hand and instead wraps her arms around his neck. Her voice drops an octave. “Are you afraid you might stumble upon my bras and panties?”

“D-D-DEMENCIA!” He shrieks, face tomato red through the paper bag. The girl laughs and pulls away.

“You are too easy Flug Bug,” She grabs his hand again, her free hand rests on the doorknob. “Don’t worry, only one of those things will likely happen~”

Flug could only groan in defeat as he is pulled inside and pushed all the way to the lizard girl’s bed. He reluctantly lays down, surrounded by all sorts of plush toys, as Demencia buries him under many blankets. Satisfied with her work, she grabs a random beanbag chair, dragging it towards to the bed.

“Um… Demencia?”

“Hm?”

Flug pauses for a moment before moving to sit up. Demencia watches him with curiosity, inhales air once she sees him remove his paper bag and goggles. This would now the second time she sees his actual face, only this time she is allowed.

He is young, but stress and work has made him unnaturally older. Heavy bags indicate intense lack of sleep, and his burns (flesh horrifically singed to raw meat and tissue) hide from the world under his brown hair, as if ashamed. Disgusted with his imperfections. His emotions are raw and potent, the most Demencia has ever seen.

“I really am sorry for what I did to you,” he says. “Sure you can say it was originally your fault and that I wasn’t in my right mind, and you may be right, but that’s no excuse. If Black Hat didn’t come at all then, you really would have died. It’s something I could never stop thinking about since it happened. No matter how much I drowned myself with work, no matter how hard I punished myself, the thought would just never leave. And I find myself fearing the the worst of it happening again, to you or even to 5.0.5. I-”

“You won’t.”

Flug eyes her, looking bewildered. Hints of anger could aso be seen. “Demencia you may think you know me, but you don’t. It will happen again.”

“And when it does, I’ll snap you out of it,” she responds. She abandons her bean bag and moves to sit on the bed with him, her expression hard. “You always sound like you’re fighting your battles alone, but I could tell, Black Hat has always been helping you, hasn’t he?”

“...”

“And from what I can see, he won’t be stopping anytime soon. Also, you have 5.0.5. And you have me. If you let us, we can be there for you too.”

Dread seeps through Flug in waves. “B-But-”

“I know you’re scared of hurting me again,” she cuts him off gently while pulling him into a hug. “And if you want my honesty, I was scared too. But now, after everything that’s happened I absolutely refuse to leave your side again. And in case you have forgotten Doctor, I am DEMENCIA for crying out loud! You know, the girl who was once a normal girl nearly dying but you made her into a near-indestructible war machine with lizard genes? That girl? Yeah.”

She pulls away and sits cross-legged, manic grin gleaming. “You may have caught me off my guard nerd boy, but next time, I will come fully prepared! You hear? I will never die by the hands of a lanky science nerd. My reputation won’t allow it.”

Flug blinks and stares for what may be minute.

Till all of a sudden, a giggle bubbles out. And those giggles soon turn to full-blown laughter.

Wholehearted and genuine, he falls on his back and laughs.

And it was Demencia’s turn to look speechless. She has never heard him laugh like that. Ever. So open and happy and unafraid. Paper bagless. And she did that. She caused that.

“I… I’m sorry!” He breathes. “I’m not laughing at you I swear… just…”

He sits ups again, calming down. His smile made him look his young youthful age.

“Just… thank you, I guess? For still wanting to put up with me, even though I thought you never really… um...” He trails off.

Demencia scooches next to him. “Never really what?”

Pale cheeks flush as he taps his fingers together. “I... well, I just thought you n-never really... liked me much is all. Y’know, only seeing me as a lanky science nerd and always a subject for teasing.”

“Really?”

Flug takes in her look of surprise with confusion. “Um, yes?”

“Are you serious?!” He flinches back slightly at her outburst. “And here I am thinking that you’ve always hated me, more so now because of that paper bag incident!”

“I… I don’t hate you. I mean, you do cause me stress sometimes, but I never hated you. Even now, still I don’t hate you.”

“You… you don’t?”

Dr. Flug wraps an arm around her, and pulls her close. “No. I don’t.”

The unexpected action causes the girl’s face to heat up. The contact feels warm and if she dared look up, she fears she might say or do something discomfiting. Flug’s face has that power over her, she realizes.

He does have quite a handsome face, the burns and scars beautiful in their own way.

How will he react if she tells him that?

Another time.

For now, she makes herself comfortable under the blankets and snuggles closer to him.

“I’m glad.” She mutters happily before the two drift slowly into a peaceful sleep.

…

If the Demencia from weeks in the past was ever informed of the future events that would lead to this, she’d laugh at the sheer absurdity, boast about how she'll always have her eyes on Black Hat and ONLY Black Hat, and possibly toss the sorry messenger into a pit of poisonous snakes. It was the most reasonable reaction she would do.

Because who could ever believe that her sights would soon shift to Dr. Flug of all people??

To her, and to anyone else who would meet him for the first time, Dr. Flug is scrawny, weak, added with anxiety and fear overpowering the little bit of courage he may have in his system, and just an all around nerd to top it off. He's a walking cliche of that kid who everyday gets teased and shoved into lockers at school. If not for the inexplicable need to hide his face all the time, then there'd be nothing interesting or noteworthy about Dr. Flug. Past Demencia would believe in that strongly.

Now…  
  
Waking up the next morning, Demecia thought she might’ve stumbled onto heaven.

She doesn’t consider herself a religious person (being raised from a rich, controlling, and devout Christian family can produce negative effects)

But the image she’s seeing before her could offer no other explanation.

In bed with her, laying curled under the blankets, was a boy, beautifully angelic despite the scars and burns on his face. In fact, those only added to his beauty. The way the sun shines through the windows and hits his form perfectly, illuminating in a way you’d expect a fucking choir number to come on. His messy yet perfect floofy looking hair sticking out in all directions.

And don’t get her started on those cute little snores.

If this right here isn’t what heaven looks like, then there is none. Simple as that.

Demencia would’ve continued to stare at the angel in her bed forever had she not spotted a peculiar envelope resting atop her nightstand and propped against her lavalamp.

Carefully, so as to not wake the sleeping angel, she shifts and reaches for the thing. Grabbing it, she shifts back comfortably, analyzing the folded paper. There was no written name of the sender or any indication of where this envelope came from.

Oh well,this was here for a reason so she may as well open it. She opens the flap and peers inside.

…

Flug, currently having the longest, most satisfying and comfortable sleep since what feels like a millennia ago, is abruptly woken by loud high pitched scream. The sound threw him so far off, he fell off the bed with a painful thud. He stands up quickly, fully awake, alert, and high on paranoia.

“FLUG!”

Only to meet the ground once more due to being pounced by a certain lizard girl. Battling through the pain, dizziness, and possible nausea, the poor doctor cracks his eyes open.

He registers Demencia sitting on top of him, all while supported the biggest grin he’s seen on her yet.

“Omg Flug look what I found look look look!”

Two strips of paper were shoved to his face as the girl squeals again. Still slightly disoriented, he tries to read what they are, blinking multiple times to make out the tiny letters.

“Are those… tickets?”

“Not just any tickets! Concert tickets! VIP passes too! And it’s from one of my favorite bands!”

“Wait… how? Where did-”

“No idea! They were in an envelope on my nightstand when I woke up!” Though now, Demencia does take the time to ponder on how they got here, and from whom they came from. “Do you think…”

Flug catches on to what she’s thinking. “Though the very thought of it is unsetting for many reasons, it’s the most plausible. Is there anything else in that envelope?”

“Let’s see…” She checks inside the thin package and discovers a folded note. She takes it out and unfolds the paper to neat and elegant handwriting. Upon reading the first few lines, she cracks up and hands the paper to Flug. The man takes it, though very hesitant, and looks at the note. Seeing the all too familiar handwriting, Flug swallows dryly, automatically expecting the worst.

_Flug,_

_There are two tickets for a reason so I expect you out of my house. You’ve done more than what’s required to get time off for a whole week. So if I catch you in the lab during that time frame, be prepared for a punishment worse than death.  
_

_BH_

“Well at least we were right,” says Demencia as she fought not to crack again at Flug’s expression.

“I feel sick.”

She rolls her eyes. “You do realize you’re blushing right?”

“I-I-It could be b-because you’re sitting on me!”

“Oh! My my Dr.Flug, I wasn’t expecting such a bold confession! I should make myself more comfortable here then~”

Flug pushes her off and Demencia rolls around on the ground laughing. With an irritated huff, the doctor stands and the gift items left carelessly on the ground. He reads the tickets again. It is a band he’s familiar with and he’d have to agree that they were indeed quite good. A trip to the concert may not be so bad.

“I guess I should go get ready then. I’ll meet up with you soon?”

Demencia sits up and eying Flug, gives a saucy wink. “It’s a date cutie~”

The scientist’s mouth hangs open and his brain practically fries as he tries to process what he just heard. His cheeks become unbearably hot and feels his pulse skyrocketing. He’s noticed the change in the girl’s behavior, how her usual teasing has shifted dramatically into… play-flirting? How that happened is beyond him. There’s nothing about him that’s attractive, and her no longer thinking about Black Hat is an anomaly that shouldn’t be possible.

And yet...

That very girl, the girl he saved from near death when Black Hat brought her to him, the girl who takes joy out of his misery, the girl he attacked and the girl who chooses to stay with him despite that…

Demencia stands, goes over and gives a peck to his undamaged cheek.

“You really are too cute. And don’t forget, we’re going to a rock concert. So no nerdy outfits or you’ll stick out too much. Capiche?”

Flug just nods dumbly, unable to trust his own words to help him.The girl doesn’t seem to mind, enveloping him in another warm hug.

Shakily, while fighting to steady his racing heart, the scientist slowly raises his arms and wraps them around her waist, returning the embrace.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how I like the way it's written in some parts but I fix later when I have the time lol. 
> 
> Hope you like it still~~


End file.
